Institute of Liberal Art (ILA)

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Alignment between secondary school certificate (ssc) english assessments of bises of the punjab and national curriculum of Pakistan 2006
(UMT Lahore, 2006) Muhammad Saqib Zafar
Establishing Alignment between English Curriculum of Secondary School Certificate and assessments to ascertain the validity and reliability of assessment tool is very necessary in the present era. It is important to make connections between the actual learning and the intended learning. More importantly, valid and reliable measurement of proficiency in English at Secondary School Certificate (SSC) level is imperative because SSC is a basic qualification which leads to higher degrees in all disciplines and English is taught as a compulsory subject at this level. This particular research addressed the need of identification of the degree of alignment between SSC Level assessments of English and the Curriculum of SSC. The researcher collected data through model assessments available at the website of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and through National Curriculum of English 2006. The data were analyzed through Webb Alignment Tool meant for finding alignment between curriculum and assessment. The research found that there was significant misalignment between curriculum and assessment of English at Secondary School Certificate Level. In response, this research recommended amendments in the assessment pattern for the upcoming exams.
Accuracy of text psyche base on moods interpretation
(UMT Lahore, 2008) Summaira Sarfraz
The study, based on Linguistics and Text Mining integrated research, aims to investigate the problem of determining the accuracy of the overall psyche of a text by identifying and interpreting human psychic states-more commonly referred to as 'moods' and the relationship between the words associated with moods and neutral words/phrases to form a particular psyche. Psyche mining of a text relies, to a larger extent, on extracting moods and emotions of a writer by classifying his/her document according to words belonging to the specific mood categories. The study examines not only the overall psyche of a text, that how a particular text can be labeled as a particular mood expressive text, e.g, 'a joyful text,' etc, but also the omplexities which are involved in the interpretation of multiple emotions within the same text to determine the accuracy of the extracted psyche. A text mining tool 'Psyche Map' has been developed for the extraction of words associated with moods from the text and the determination of the text psyche based on the calculation of the weightages attached to these words associated with moods. The tool is tuned to tag local psyche on account of its basis in determination of moods, their synonyms and their respective weightages, which was undertaken locally from non-native English language teachers who teach at undergraduate level. This methodology was applied to the English essays written by the non-native undergraduate university students of English language and the psyche of their texts have been accurately determined assessed by tool on the basis of moods interpretation.
Insensitive language content in the print media
(UMT, Lahore, 2008)
This study investigates and evaluates the effects of the language content on women issues as represented by the popular English print media in Pakistan, in order to identify attitudes reinforced by the language content in the newspapers towards women, and to outline the prospects for a gender sensitive print media in Pakistan. The paper examines the perceptions of men and women formed by the stereotypical language of the print media texts. A sample of graduate students as well as professional participants was selected and surveyed to determine the relationships between po^ayal of women by the print media and the awareness of existence/non-existence of gender bias in the language content. This study collected data from methodological triangulation. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaire, content analysis of selected English language daily Newspapers and face-to-face interviews with jourriaHsts. Articles related to women issues published in fiyeJeading English newspapers during February- April, 2008 were located and analyzed. The data revealed that the issues related to Women in Pakistani society remain generally ignored or downplayed. The overwhelming emphasis on Pakistan's predominantly patriarchal identity continues to overshadow women. The statistical tools of the Independent Samples Test and Paired Samples Test were used to determine differences in perceptions of males and female readers formed by the language content of the English News papers. Recommendations for future course of action and strategies to promote the role of a gender sensitive media in Pakistan were also made.
Alim aur alam (ary digital)
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Zunaira Imran; Shafaq Waseem
Influence of hindi dubbed cartoons on the linguistic repertoire of urdu/english bilingual children
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Zareen Chaudhry
The study was conducted to explore the influence of Hindi dubbed cartoons on the linguistic repertoire of the participants ranging in age from 8 years to 11 years. The intention was to trace the borrowing of Hindi words into the everyday language of the participants under study. Sixty female students of a private school; 15 from each class 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively, were selected for the study. A list of ten common words was extracted from two Hindi dubbed cartoons (Chotta Bheem and Doremon) on the basis of pilot study. The selected words of Hindi were given to the participants in English for translation from English into Urdu. The findings brought forward shift in the participants’ responses regarding the use of Hindi lexemes. Class 2 participants used the highest percentage of Hindi lexemes but the results did not mark the situation as alarming. The participants from class 5 showed the least tendency to use Hindi lexemes in their responses. The results found that the influence was transitional and temporary and with maturity and exposure towards the Urdu language, the influence of Hindi dubbed cartoons faded away from linguistic repertoire of the participants and they preferred the lexemes associating them with their speech community. Moreover, the study concluded that language contact developed a better understanding of other cultures.
Global perspective of teaching english literature in higher education in pakistan
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Rabiah Rustam
This study investigates the need to reform and restructure English literature syllabus at graduate level in higher education in Pakistan. Due to the changing global context, the requirements of the students have changed. Teaching English literature from global perspective requires that the language used in literature should be easy to comprehend. If the material used is easy, it can be exploited for language use. Literature component needs to be integrated to the language activity in order to develop the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills of the students. Moreover, the students need to be made aware of the local as well as the global culture. The study was conducted in various colleges of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan where English literature is taught for teaching language at the graduate level. Quantitative as well as qualitative data was collected and analyzed. The results of the study indicate that the basic English of the students require attention. They need to be made conscious of the Pakistani literature as well as the world literatures in English. The study has suggested a syllabus for the graduate level students that can be used in place of the already existing syllabus. The study recommends that further research is required on the already existing syllabi for the sake of improvement in their quality, raising consciousness about the local literature and promoting the cross cultural understanding through the incorporation of the global English literature in the syllabus.
Impact of learner centered approach on writing skill of the undergraduate students of pakistani universities
(UMT Lahore, 2009)
The study investigates the effectiveness of Learner Centered Approach on the development of writing skill of undergraduate students of Pakistani universities. It is an experimental study. The participants of this study include 60 undergraduate students of first semester studying in the University of Management and Technology, Lahore. The participants were divided in two groups of 30 each. Pre-test was conducted at the start of the experiment to assess the performance of students at this stage. The experimental group was taught through Learner Centered Approach and the Control group was taught through Teacher Centered Approach. Teacher Centered based activities were used to teach writing skill to the control group during the experiment. Learner Centered based activities were used to teach writing skill to the experimental group during the experiment. At the end of the experiment post test was conducted in order to assess the effect of two approaches on the performance of students in writing skills. IELTS assessment method was used to assess the performance of students in the pre-test, post-test and in the activities conducted during the experiment. In order to find out the point of view of students regarding their improvement in four sub categories of writing, post-activity questionnaire was administered after each activity conducted during the experiment. A questionnaire was administered after the experiment in order to know the point of views of the students regarding the two approaches. The quantitative analysis was done through SPSS 21. The scores of pre-test and post-test were compared to notice the approach that affected positively to the writing skill of students. The results of the study show that Learner Centered Approach is more effective in developing writing skills of undergraduate students in University of Management and Technology, Lahore.
Multimodal discourse analysis
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Elishba Najam
The current research is a significant addition in the field of linguistics as it covers a comprehensive analysis of a popular event “Retreat Ceremony”. The researcher has used a qualitative method in order to study and explore how ‘semiotic modes’ combine together to construct: representational, interactive and compositional meanings within a discourse. Moreover, Kress and Leeuwen’s model “Visual Grammar Design” has been used as a framework as it provides tools for analyzing a multimodal discourse, therefore, by incorporating two models the researcher has analyzed a historic event known as “Retreat Ceremony”. However, in order to study the role of ‘semiotic modes’ for constructing meanings, the researcher has used a visual grammar approach to multimodal discourse for analyzing this popular event held at Wagah and Ganda Singh border. The researcher’s intention was to explore how semiotic modes combine to generate meanings within a discourse. Furthermore, the research focuses on the significance of the event, its influence on audience and how a multimodal discourse plays a role in highlighting the Indo-Pak relation shown at the two borders. Apart from this, the findings of the research highlight the “hostile relation” between India and Pakistan and unfolds a relation of hate, enmity and anger displayed by Indian and Pakistani soldiers as they come face to face at the two borders: Wagah and Ganda Singh. The ‘gestures’ and ‘facial expressions’ of Indian and Pakistani soldiers, reveal a relationship of antagonism between India and Pakistan. Further, the gestures and facial expressions also reveal the significance of the event which carries the weight of history: the division of sub-continent into two sovereign powers: India and Pakistan. The event invokes feelings of patriotism among the audience as they hold flags of their respective country, shout out slogans of “JeevayJeevay Pakistan and Jai Hind”. Through a visual grammar analysis of Retreat Ceremony the researcher explored how semiotic modes like “gestures”, “color” and “facial expressions” generate meanings, leading towards new directions for understanding in depth meanings constructed through similar discourses. However, it is hoped that the current research will encourage future researchers to study similar visual discourses such as “shandur polo festival” held at Chitral and other festive events like “Sapporo snow festival” or “Lantern festival”. The current study encourages future researchers to investigate and explore in depth meanings by analyzing similar visual discourses through Visual Grammar approach. Similarly, the current research will open new doors for contemporary linguists to apply the theory of Multimodal discourse analysis for deconstructing and analyzing similar national and political events as the “Retreat Ceremony”. Furthermore, the research will help linguists to study ‘semiotic resources’ from a military perspective in order to dig out hidden meanings. Similarly, the current research will highlight the historic significance of the “Retreat Ceremony” and its influence on the audience through a Multimodal framework.
Gender differences in the use of linguistic features in sms text messaging of pakistani university students
(UMT Lahore, 2009) KIRAN ASLAM
The main objective of this study is to explore gender differences in the use of linguistic features in SMS text messaging of Pakistani university students. Theoretically, the study is guided by Bodomo and Lee’s model of Technology-conditioned Language Change and Use and Herring’s approach of Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis. The study is quantitative in nature. One hundred students_50 males and 50 females, were selected through purposive sampling method. They provided a corpus of 300 text messages. Two methods were used for data analysis: content analysis and descriptive statistics. Content analysis was used for classification and coding of data. Data was classified into: the text messages sent by male students and the text messages sent by female students. Linguistic features were categorized into lexical features and typographical features. Lexical features were further categorized into initialism, contraction, clipping and letter and number homophones. Typographical features were further categorized into punctuation, phonetic spellings, emoticons and onomatopoeic words. The researcher assigned the codes to each lexical and typographical feature for the analysis of data. Data analysis uncovers and brings forward various linguistic features used by males and females in their text messages. It also includes description of results and discussions on these linguistic features used in both genders’ text messaging. Descriptive statistics interprets data through frequencies and simple percentages. The messages were analyzed for the occurrences of lexical and typographical features and compared for differences across gender. The messages were also analyzed to identify the most frequently occurred lexical feature and typographical feature among other lexical and typographical features, in males’ and females’ text messages. The findings of this study reveal the existence of gender differences in the use of linguistic features in SMS text messaging of Pakistani university students. Males tend to use more lexical features than females. Males use more initialisms, contractions and clippings whereas females use letter and number homophone more than males do. In terms of typographical features, the males tend to use more phonetic spelling than females while the females tend to use more punctuation, onomatopoeic words and emoticons than males. Among lexical features, contraction is the most frequently used lexical feature in males’ text messages and letter and number homophones in females’ text messages. Among typographical features, punctuation is the most frequently used typographical feature in both males’ and females’ text messages. This study contributes to the literature related to the study of language in terms of the use of some of the linguistic features and their variations in text messaging between males and females.
An investigation into the code choices and request strategies of punjabi speakers
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Rahat Bashir
The purpose of this study is to determine the preferred code choices and request strategies adopted by Punjabi speakers, while requesting their friends, seniors and subordinates. The following questions were formulated to investigate the current studies; Is there any association between age, education, gender, family income and type of occupation with the choice of language? Is there any association between age, education, gender, family income and type of occupation with the type of request strategy? What is the preferred language of Punjabi speakers according to their age, education, gender, family income, and type of occupation? What is the preferred request strategy by Punjabi speakers, according to their age, education, gender, family income, and type of occupation? In order to collect the data, a Discourse Completion Test was designed, under five variables, which are already mentioned in the research questions. A total of 168 respondents (males=83, females=85) were selected from different areas of Lahore, covering the above said variables, through random stratified sampling. The research was purely quantitative in nature, so the data was analysed through SPSS, by applying chi-square test and by finding the variation within variables. The results concluded that Punjabi has never been the preferred code of the respondents, under any social variable, accumulatively. It is only “age” that has not marked any significant change in respondents’ choice of language and request strategy. On the other hand, gender, level of education, type of occupation and financial condition, do mark significant changes in the speaker’s choices. The results explain that females have totally abandoned Punjabi, while requesting their subordinates. Overall, with friends and subordinates, respondents (males and females) have chosen bald on strategy, with Urdu as their medium of communication. Moreover, English is used for seniors in aggregate, with negative politeness, as a strategy to be polite. It is suggested that government should take actions at provincial level to maintain the dignity of Punjabi, and save it from getting further stigmatized. Furthermore, in second language context, use of modal verbs must be taught accurately for communication in educational institutes.
Perceptions of the people towards use of codeswitching in advertisements and daily life
(UMT Lahore, 2009) TAYYABA MALIK
This paper presents an analysis of the perception of people towards use of code-switching in advertisements and daily life. This research aims at showing that people have appeal and attraction towards code-switching in advertisements and daily life. It also challenges monolinguals and some bilinguals who view practice of code-switching in negative manner. They regard CS as the result of non-proficiency of two languages and considered it incorrect language or a low prestige form. Despite this negative impression, code-switching in English and Urdu is found to be a useful and successful tool for better communication during studies, profession and social life of the people. This particular area of CS has not yet investigated in Pakistani context. Practically speaking, this research also shows that trend of using CS is increasing in advertisements and daily life from the last six years. Youth and children code-switch more as compared to that of old people. The data has been analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and was collected through questionnaire and interviews. Pilot study helps in making necessary changes before the final research is done on the ninety respondents. All the present data shows that CS between English and Urdu act as an impressive, appealing, attractive and stylish tool in advertisements and daily life. It is playing leading role for effective communication in most of the advertisements to attract the customers and in daily life to impress others. Finally directions for future research on code-switching are discussed giving particular emphasis to courses in languages. In the curriculum, more emphasis should be placed on teaching of art of convincing and persuading others and communicative strategies to the students who would have to advocate their point of views in all professional fields. One successful strategy is code-switching. This research would encourage certainly the other researchers to explore this phenomenon in detail.
Language and identity in the virtual discourse
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Uzma Yasmeen
Emergence of online media and mediated communications has triggered a change in the standard features of language and patterns of everyday life in society. In this global world, new networking application, for example, Twitter, Skype, Linked In, etc. are connecting human beings. However, the present study investigates how Pakistani Facebook users project their identity onto the virtual space. To investigate the subject, data from Facebook ‘Profiles’ and ‘Wall posts’ were copied and scrutinized. The participants for the present study were divided into three equal groups according to their ages- teenagers, youngsters, and adults. Moreover, males and females of each age group were equally included in the study to see differences with gender. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively through simple computations of the content and subjective investigations by using Fairclough’s three dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings revealed that people have a wide array of opportunities to project their real identity onto the virtual space, like self disclosure through profile, home pages, linguistic structures, and most importantly name and profile picture show who a person is. Moreover, it was found that traditional patterns of variation in socialization, self-disclosure, and communication on the basis of age and gender persist in the virtual world. Where male and female show differences in their life on Facebook, but these differences vary across participants of three age groups. Moreover, transition in life phases of adolescents, youngsters, and adults is identified through their linguistic and socialization behavior equally in the virtual space.
Sequential presentation of grammatical morphemes in efl textbooks and its relation with morpheme acquisition
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Abdul Qadir Khan
This study is designed to determine the sequence of presentation of grammaticalmorphemes in English Textbooks prescribed by Punjab Textbook Board for primary levellearners (5-10 years) in Pakistan and its relation with morpheme acquisition in yoimglearners. The sequence of presentation of grammatical morphemesjin-^gli^ textbooks has been determined on the basis of order of introduction of these morphemes in these textbooks. The study compares this obtained sequence of presentation to the L2 order of morpheme acquisition presented by Dulay and Burt (1974) and finds a significant difference between the two orders. The study also focuses to explore the relation of this obtained sequence of presentation with morpheme acquisition in Primary level leamers. Three tasks: essay writing, grammar exercise and a translation activity, have been admimstered to thirty grade fifth young leamers. After scoring for morpheme suppliance in obligatory contexts and using the correct percentage method to order the morphemes, no concordance is found between the sequence of presentation of grammatical morphemes and order of morpheme acquisition by primary level leamers. The results show concordance between Dulay and Burt's (1974) order of morpheme acquisition and the order obtained from young leamers in this study. This study also verifies that L2 leamers follow the same order of morpheme acquisition irrespective of their different Lls and different language exposures. The results of the study also show that not even a single morpheme reached minimal acquisition limit that is 90 % accuracy level. The study concludes that the sequence of presentation of grammatical morphemes in EFL Textbooks for primary level leamers in Pakistan is significantly different from L2 order of moipheme acquisition presented by Duiay and Burt (1974). This sequence of presentation of grammatical morphemes has no effect on the order of morpheme acquisition but does affect the rate of morpheme acquisition and it makes the rate of morpheme acquisition slower and hampers cognitive acceleration of the study. This study suggests that the natural order of morpheme acquisition should be followed in teaching that will help in cognitive acceleration of learners.
Language attitude of adolescent shin speakers towars shina, urdu and english
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Rumana Nazir
We are not a sitar with a single string, and our music take more than one chord to make. We are convergences of languages and cultures, all of which are simply too lustrous to be overshadowed by a single one (Anonymous). Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the most culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse areas of Pakistan. Unfortunately, almost all the languages used in Gilgit-Baltistan exist only in spoken form and lack proper orthography. Furthermore, the lack of patronage from government and educational sectors has directly affected the significance and value of these languages. The only institutionalized languages in this area are Urdu and English like the rest of the country. Keeping in view the present scenario, this study was an attempt to explore the language attitudes of a group of fifty native adolescents of Shina speech community living in Gilgit. Matched guised technique was used to elicit the unconscious responses of the respondents toward the different languages under investigation (English, Urdu and Shina languages). A brief language attitude questionnaire was also used to enhance the authenticity of the research. The collected data was statistically analyzed by using the SPSS software. The result clearly showed that the respondents were instrumentally inclined to learn English and Urdu as these languages offer more privileges and benefits as compared to Shina language. Different reasons related to the low evaluation and ratings of Shina were discussed along with the consequences. It was concluded that the vitality of Shina language may be threaten if such negative attitudes persist. Finally, some recommendations were given to uplift and safeguard the status of Shina language.
A comparative study of teachers’ and students’ perceptions regarding use of english literature in english language class
(UMT Lahore, 2009) ABDUL MAJID KHAN RANA
Most teachers consider literature as an independent subject with no relation with language learning. This view is based on narrow concept of language teaching and learning. There are undeniable benefits that a language learner can gain from the inclusion of literature in language teaching and learning. Language teaching through literature based on the views that literary works can give student intellectual pleasure. It has the power to motivate students to learn a language they might not lean otherwise. Literature is rapidly available and applicable to a wide range of learners. Different genres e.g poetry and fiction are good starting place because the language is more concise, pure, abstract, and beautiful then in drama. Pomes are easily memorized and will encourage student to use and consider the language in unfamiliar ways, and teach beautiful turns of phrase not available in any other text. Literature is intellectually stimulating because it allows a reader to imagine worlds they are not familiar with. In order to understand, the learner will create their vision of what writer is saying. In this sense, the learners becomes performers in the communicative events as they read. Short stories with various themes are also appropriate instructional materials because they are in prose that is close to everyday usage, are of a suitable length, can acquaint students with the variety of themes, and provide models of a variety of language style. This study investigate and analyzed the extant and importance of literary discourse in English language teaching and learning. A 5 point likert scale questionnaire, based on the findings from literature review, was distributed among university students and teacher of elt, literature and linguistics classes to find out their perceptions about using literary text in an English language class. Result of data analysis showed positive attitude and opinion of the respondents towards using literature in language class.
A study of the attitude of the students towards the language of instruction
(UMT Lahore, 2009) RAZA-E-MUSTAFA
English occupies a unique status in Pakistani society. It is as much used as it is hated. The existence of two separate systems of education to cater for the needs of different social classes has further complicated the issue of linguistic preference. The students of Urdu-medium schools, due to less frequent contact with English do not accept English as an important language and the students of English-medium schools, due to their prolonged contact with English develop positive attitude towards it. However, whether they consequently develop a negative attitude towards English and Urdu respectively is what this research tried to find out. Three different types of schools from Gujranwala region were selected for this study and a questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection. It showed that the students of Urdu-medium schools had indeed developed a negative attitude towards English. On the other hand, the students of English-medium schools had developed a slightly negative attitude towards Urdu. Interviews further underscored the issue of language attitudes. Most of the Urdu-medium students, despite wanting to learn English, hated it for various reasons. On the other hand, the students of English-medium schools preferred English over Urdu. The problems of language attitudes and their impact on the socio-political divide of the country have been discussed in detail in this research.
The effects of urdu punjabi and english on mewati lexical items in pakistan
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Muhammad Kamran Arshad
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Urdu, Punjabi and English on Mewati lexical items in Pakistan. Mewati speech community migrated from the current state of Delhi, Haryana and Alwar, India and settled across various parts of Pakistan in 1947. After the migration, Mewati speech community eventually met various dialects and languages spoken across Pakistan. It seems as Mewati has been depleting ever since. There are striking differences in the speed of change across the various linguistic levels, such as phonology, lexis, syntax and semantics. The present study investigates intergenerational lexical shift in the Mewati language. Labov (1963, 1966) argues that language change can be observed through different age groups. Thus, the Apparent Time Hypothesis was considered for studying intergenerational lexical shift in the Mewati language. The data was collected from 60 participants belonging to three different age groups. The three age groups were composed of participants whose ages were between 10-25 years, 35-50 years, and 70-90 years, respectively. All the participants were residents of the province Punjab, which is in a way representative of the target population. A list of items of daily use along with their images was administered to elicit their responses. The study shows that there is more likely a significant lexical shift between (10-25) years old Mewati speakers. The second age group (35-50 years) was quite successful to retain some words. However, those who were between 70-90 years seem true representatives of the Mewati language because their responses were correct in all instances presented to them. There is reason to believe that the Mewati language would suffer badly after the death of last person in this age group. Nevertheless, with these findings we can safely speculate that the Mewati language is endangered.
English pronunciation problems as perceived by punjabi speaking students
(UMT Lahore, 2009) MEMUNA NASEER
Education is a process of enlightenment and empowerment by which the individuals are able to secure a better quality of life. Today, education is global and a multipurpose social service, which reward human creativity, commitment and freedom. Currently there is a language competition among the learners of our society that includes English as one of the major languages. It is set to trigger their passion towards learning English language. Since our future belongs to these young learners, therefore it becomes necessary to assist them in learning English language. Being a member of this family of learners, I find it obligatory to look for the difficulties that the learners may face in achieving the command over English language pronunciation. The purpose of my thesis was to examine the possible reasons behind not achieving the desired level of English pronunciation by those who belong to Punjabi speaking families, and to eradicate the pronunciation errors by providing different solutions to their problems. For this quantitative research, I used Survey Method and let the students who had Punjabi speaking background fill a questionnaire. The questionnaire was consisted of ten hypotheses, sum of which are as follow: Punjabi background effects English pronunciation. Punjabi speaking students often pronounce English words incorrectly. Mass Media can be of vital importance in improving English pronunciation. Pronunciation lends accuracy to the message conveyed. This survey provided me several findings; it drew out that certain social factors influence the language itself. Being Punjabi speaking is not a fault, but the thing that is of more importance is the ability to recognize, remember and produce sounds of a language. Lack of vocabulary is also a problem that is debatable. The limited range of vocabulary does not allow them to develop their ideas and present these ideas confidently. Keeping in mind the problems found, I suggested a few solutions. One should motivate oneself that they can learn quickly and affectively. They should decide on some goals. They should be sure to practice and practice without fear. Also, they should make it enjoyable. English is considered to be the modern lingua franca, a language which most of the countries share in order to communicate. Therefore, the knowledge of English is necessary to keep with the latest development and a sound knowledge of English opens up prospects of progress at national and international levels.
Description and classification of balti consonants
(UMT Lahore, 2009) Ghulam Abbas
The present study attempts to describe and classify consonants of Balti language which is spoken in Baltistan region of Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. The study selects Balti language because it is one of the lesser known languages in Pakistan and no significant work on the sounds and sound system of Balti language has ever been conducted. In order to describe and classify Balti consonants, 120 different words were selected from different Balti books. These words are arranged in the form of pairs to determine phonemic or allophonic contrast between different consonant sounds of Balti. In order to provide further empirical support to the description of sounds, the study also employed acoustic analysis of Balti consonants to show their physical features by using the software PRAAT. To record the samples of different Balti consonant sounds, the researcher selected 20 native Balti speakers between the age group of 16 to 35 studying in the Govt College (boys) Model Town and University of Management and Technology, Lahore Pakistan. The physical features of the sound samples of Balti native speakers were shown in the form of spectrograms for each and every individual sound. Articulatory and acoustic analyses of Balti consonant sounds demonstrate that there are a total of 40 consonant sounds in Balti language. Out of these 40 sounds, there are 15 stops, i.e, 3 bilabial sounds /p/, ph/ voiceless and /b/ voiced, 3 dento-alveolar stops /ȶ/ voiceless un-aspirated /ȶh/ voiceless aspirated and /ɖ/ voiced, 3 alveolar stops /t/, /th/ voiceless and /d/ voiced, 5 velar stops /k/, /kh/, /kr /voiceless and two voiced velar stops /g/ and /gr/ and 1 uvular stop /q/, 5 nasal sounds /m/ voiced bilabial nasal /n/ voiced dento alveolar nasal /Ŋ/, /ɲ/ and /ŋ/ velar nasal, 10 fricatives out of which 5 are alveolar fricatives /s/, / hl/, / hr / voiceless and /z/ and /r/ voiced fricatives, 2 voiced velar fricatives /x/, /ɣ/ and 1 voiceless glottal fricative /h/, 5 affricates out of which 2 voiceless dento alveolar affricates /ts/, /tsh/ , 2 voiceless palate alveolar affricates / ʧ/, /ʧh/ and 1 voiced affricates /ʤ/, 1 trill sound, 1 flap, 1 lateral and 2 glide sounds were found. All the sound samples of native Balti speakers were analyzed using PRAAT. Since different sound samples did not show any significant variation, only one of 20 sound samples recorded was presented in the form of spectrograms. Thus, the study successfully described and classified consonants of Balti language in both articulatory and acoustic terms.
Media portrayal of stereotypes
(UMT Lahore, 2009) SADAF AZEEM
The present study explores media portrayal of gender stereotypes. The study scrutinizes that how media through language and images portray stereotypes about gender. The study highlights the role of media in depicting males and females as different and unequal from each other. It particularly focuses on how media portrays females through advertisements. Content analysis of electronic advertisements was done to answer the research questions ((a) whether or not media’s content of language portrays stereotypes? (b) Do media portray stereotypes through images?). A sample of advertisements of 50 products of Procter & Gamble, Lever & Brothers, and Cellular companies which were advertised by the media was examined. For the content analysis a Performa was adapted which was proposed by Saez, Morales and Lisbona (2008). A questionnaire was also used for data collection, filled by 30 students of University of Mangement and Technology. In this way through content analysis and questionnaire, data (qualitative and quantitative) were collected. Percentages and frequencies of the data were taken and data were interpreted in tabular and graphical form. Results extracted from content analysis and questionnaire showed that media contents of language and images portray stereotypes. Results have shown that media portrayal of males and females do not give equal picture of gender rather gives biased and stereotypical picture of gender. Moreover, results have also shown that media, through advertisements, particularly target females. Media do not portray females equal to males and their image is distorted by the media.

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